Why Liverpool's Pursuit of Alex Teixeira Doesn't Make Much Sense

While Teixeira may solve a particular problem, is he that much better than Firmino, who scored his fair share of goals in a tougher league than Ukraine's and finally appears to have turned a corner after a transitional six months on Merseyside? £38million is an excessive amount to spend on only a slight upgrade - £50million is careless.
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No matter which way I look at it, Liverpool's pursuit of Alex Teixeira doesn't seem to make sense.

His 26 goals in 26 games - including two against Real Madrid in the Champions League - are obviously not to be sniffed at, but logically, this is as bizarre a deal as Simon Mignolet's five-year contract extension.

First there's the cost. Shakhtar Donetsk are said to want either €50million (£38million) or €66m (£50million) for Teixeira, depending on who you believe. While it would not be unlike Liverpool to spend big on an individual (Andy Carroll cost £35million, Christian Benteke £32.5million and Roberto Firmino a little short of £30million) it's not very in-keeping with Jurgen Klopp traditions.

Only once in his entire career has the former Borussia Dortmund boss paid more than £13million for any one player, and never before has he exceeded the £20million mark. Ironically, his record buy was also a Shakhtar export - Henrik Mkhitaryan, at a cost of £19.25million, in 2013. Even with riches far superior to those he was used to at Dortmund - before and after constructing a near-Champions-League-winning side - you suspect the sort of fees being associated with Teixeira won't sit well with Klopp.

Dortmund signings Matts Hummels (£3million), Robert Lewandowski (£4million) and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (£10million) were each his doing, and despite the continued presence of Liverpool's infamous transfer committee, Klopp is the man calling the shots.

"It is as it when I said on the first day I came here - it is like I used to work," the German said recently when asked about signings. "Sometimes my staff and myself have an idea with a player we know or heard about and we collect some information about this.

"If I don't want the player to come here he will not come and if the player I want does not fit our budget then he will not come too. That is absolutely normal."

There are also question marks as to where Teixeira might play if he were to move to Anfield this winter. His goalscoring record - he exceeded the 20-goal mark last season too - suggests he is viewed by Liverpool as a solution to their striking problems, which have seen them score the fewest goals of any team in the Premier League's top eight.

But the Brazilian is no back-to-goal centre-forward, nor has he started a single game up front this season. His natural position is behind the main striker, where he is primed to run at defences and make late dashes into the box.

Is this not what Firmino is supposed to do, and has been doing extremely well of late - with four goals and an assist arriving in his last three league outings? Philippe Coutinho, widely regarded as Liverpool's best player, also prefers to operate within the lines of midfield and attack, while Adam Lallana's introduction from the bench arguably catalysed Saturday's 5-4 success at Norwich.

Even though the goals are in short supply - Christian Benteke is Liverpool's top scoring striker with seven in all competitions - their playmaking trio don't seem to be doing too badly, and in fact, only Manchester City have created more chances than Liverpool in this season's Premier League.

"The performance and a lot of things we did today were really good," Klopp acknowledged after last weekend's narrow defeat by Manchester United. "Creating chances was good, finishing was not, otherwise we would have scored a goal."

While Teixeira may solve that particular problem, is he that much better than Firmino, who scored his fair share of goals in a tougher league than Ukraine's and finally appears to have turned a corner after a transitional six months on Merseyside? £38million is an excessive amount to spend on only a slight upgrade - £50million is careless.

Wasn't the whole point of Klopp to finally knock some sense into a club that has been continually negligent in recent years - particularly in the transfer market? The days of shelling out £16m on Mario Balotelli, £18m on Stewart Downing and £20m on Lazar Markovic - not to mention Carroll at nearly double that - were supposed to have ceased with the German's appointment.

While you cannot question Teixeira's ability, at that price and with players like him already ingrained into Klopp's team, this transfer - if it happens - will take some getting your head around.

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